Ivan's War

Reviewed by Steven Douglas Mercatante [1]

Catherine Merridale's Ivan's War: Life and Death in the Red Army, 1939-1945, is a fascinating and necessary look at men all too often reduced to a subhuman status by not only their Second World War foes but nearly fifty years of Cold War propaganda. What most grants Merridale's work its importance lies within what is sometimes forgotten about the Second World War; the reality Hitler and his National Socialist regime were dedicated to fighting a racial war against only the Jew but also against the Slav - humans Hitler referred to as untermenschen (subhuman). Ironically, the racism that motivated Hitler's war against the Slav, in spite of Germany's defeat, became an enduring part of the historiography of the Second World War; particularly in the Anglo-American World.

As a result the Anglo-American dominated historical narrative focused on their war against Germany and virtually ignored not only the war between Germany and the Soviet Union but also the German's genocidal goals for the Slavic peoples of Eastern Europe. The faceless Soviet colossus fought in an inadequately understood Eastern European war, a war punctuated by events before Moscow in 1941, at Stalingrad in 1942, Kursk in 1943, and jumping to Berlin in 1945. The narrative portrayed the victorious Red Army crudely; as a Genghis Khan like horde swarming into Europe, mindlessly steamrolling the German army and evoking racist imagery built on the chaos wrought by Asiatic hordes sweeping into Eastern and Central Europe centuries before. The notable exceptions during this era resulted from work done by British historian John Erickson, and few others. In the Western World this prevailing perception has been hard to shake. Several reasons stand out, and not just because of the beliefs pervading the Cold War.

After the Second World War, the American and British militaries used former high-ranking German officers to analyze and describe their war against the Soviet Union. These military and civilian leaders took to this task in what generally was a highly subjective, racist and partisan fashion that completely divorced them and their men from complicity in the War of annihilation in Eastern Europe. They cast blame for German defeat on Hitler and other elements purportedly outside their control; such as the weather or the numerical strength possessed by their bestial foes. The American dominated free world eagerly lapped up these descriptions of the Slavic man. The availability of selected German archives for historians to access, without corresponding contact with Soviet archives, only exacerbated the German centric approach to examining the war in Eastern Europe. Not until the 1980s, and the Glasnost era in the Soviet Union, did researchers begin to take a renewed look at Soviet citizens and military veterans as individuals. The people patriotically fought for "Mother Russia", suffered enormously, and therefore a human face, albeit distorted, began to take shape regarding the Red Army's fight against Nazi Germany. This period was so brief however, as to barely alter perceptions formed in the 40 years following the War's end. In addition, Soviet era historians faced considerable barriers from a police state blocking their chance to objectively analyze the war in Eastern Europe. After the Cold War ended in 1991, however, the archives in the former Soviet Union and Soviet bloc nations finally opened - at least in part. Western historians therefore began to compile a richer and more precise picture regarding the War. However, much of the historical work focused on a better political, economic, or military understanding of the war between Germany and the Soviet Union. The actual face of the Red Army, a description of its men and officers, remained elusive - until now.

Ivan's War: Life and Death in the Red Army, 1939-1945 is essential reading for anyone seeking a greater understanding into the individuals making up the Second World War era Red Army. In conducting over 200 interviews with Russian veterans, examinations of diaries and military reports, even through visits to the battlefields it is obvious Merridale has done her homework. Ivan's War: Life and Death in the Red Army, 1939-1945 is a social history; Merridale largely avoids any in depth discussion of the European war's strategic, operational or tactical military history; those so interested will have to go elsewhere. Potential readers should also note the book spends the majority of its time on the pre-war social history, the actual war years are covered in less detail. Ivan's War: Life and Death in the Red Army, 1939-1945 also gives rise to one more complaint; the book somewhat neglects to cover the Red Army Air Force and Navy. Consequently, I cannot say Merridale's work represents an all encompassing social history. Nevertheless, in spite of its minor flaws, and for much the same reason I recommended The Wages of Destruction I do not hesitate to recommend Ivan's War. Far too often the Second World War's military and political-strategic aspect receives the brunt of our attentions. In going beyond we can learn much more and truly gain a better understanding into the Second World War.

1.Steven Douglas Mercatante's Why Germany Nearly Won, A New History of the Second World War in Europe, is currently scheduled for publication by ABC-CLIO's Praeger early in 2012. Why Germany Nearly Won not only explores how close Germany actually came to winning the Second World War, but also why Germany was defeated. This work stems from over two decades researching and studying the Second World War. Steven's writing in the historical field goes beyond his research, and draws upon his experience as a former history teacher, from his undergraduate studies in history at the University of Michigan, from his graduate work in history at Eastern Michigan University, and from his study of International Law at Michigan State University College of Law. Steven has been published numerous times over in the historical and financial/legal field, both online and in a scholarly journal with a 2008 article entitled; The Deregulation of Usury Ceilings, Rise of Easy Credit, and Increasing Consumer Debt, published in volume 53 of the South Dakota Law Review.